It may be naive to believe the African wild is anything like the movie "The Lion King," but it's given most children of this generation a great foundation for respect for the animal kingdom. Specifically that of lions. Anyone that has seen the film and understands the precious circle of life knows that the atrocity Walter James Palmer has committed will have a very large and tragic ripple affect beyond just the life of the handsome and majestic Cecil the Lion
Born in 2002, Cecil, a famous Zimbabwean lion, has been studied by Wildlife Conservation Research Unit of Oxford University since 2008. A tracking collar has been used to help conduct research on Cecil and his pride since 2009. On July 1, Palmer with the help and coordination of two local Zimbabweans lured Cecil away from Hwange National Park and into a territory where Palmer could hunt Cecil as game. Instead of a quick death, Cecil suffered for nearly 40 hours due to Palmer's inability to fatally strike Cecil, instead seriously wounding him and thus causing him to suffer. It wasn't until a rifle was used 40 hours later by Palmer that Cecil fell to his tragic death.
Unfortunately, the murder of Cecil could potentially have an even greater impact on his pride. BBC reported on the breaking of this travesty that a new male lion will enter the pride and likely take the lives of Cecil's six cubs. "The six cubs of Cecil could now be killed by the new male lion in the pride, Johnny Rodrigues added, in order to encourage the lionesses to mate with him." Palmer has forced nature's hand to take not only one lion's life, but now seven.
Experts on the Oxford University team who have been researching Cecil and his pride told the UK's "Daily Mail," "'The natural law in lion society is that when a male dies and his weakened coalition is usurped, the new incoming males kill their predecessors' cubs." Fortunately, Jericho, Cecil's brother, has taken over the pride and has kept the six cups under safeguard. This isn't to say he can't be challenged, but protection of the cubs has been an important aspect through this tragedy.
The wild, especially that of the African sub-Saharan, works on a delicate balance. A complex hierarchy that the prides are based on, where a king lion and queen lioness rule. ALERT, a lion preservation organization, explains the complexity of a pride: "Males are forced to leave the natal pride at age two – three years and enter a nomadic phase until they are large enough to challenge a sitting dominant male for control of a pride, at around five – six years old."
CNN reported on Friday that the African nation's environment minister Oppah Muchingur said, "Zimbabwe has started extradition proceedings and hopes the U.S. will cooperate...This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all genuine, animal-loving conservationists who believe in sustainable utilization of natural resources." Palmer's resume of hunting big game and cowardliness of doing so may finally catch up to him. Hopes that Palmer will be held accountable for murdering Cecil and justice served to him and the two local Zimbabwens if the United States accepts Zimbabwe's request to have him extradited.
Cecil's death was just as emotional if not more than that of Mufasa in "The Lion King"--only this time all too real. May you rest in peace, Cecil.
“Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.” - Mufasa
